Category:

Dateline:

Public Company Information:

NASDAQ:

BIIB

US09062X1037

STO:

SOBI

"The lack of access to clotting factor concentrates in these countries presents an urgent and important public health challenge."

DAKAR, Senegal--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The first shipments of much-needed hemophilia therapy have started to
arrive at treatment centers across the developing world Biogen
(NASDAQ: BIIB), Swedish
Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) (Sobi) (STO: SOBI) and the World
Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) announced today. These shipments are part
of the largest humanitarian aid pledge of its kind to help people with
hemophilia in developing countries.

The donation will provide up to 500 million units of hemophilia therapy
over five years to the WFH and represents a significant contribution to
the expansion of their Humanitarian Aid Program, a 20-year old
initiative dedicated to providing treatment and care for people with
hemophilia in the developing world. This initiative is the first phase
of Biogen and Sobi’s ten-year commitment to produce 1 billion
International Units (IUs) of hemophilia therapy for humanitarian use.

Hemophilia is a rare, chronic, inherited disorder in which the ability
of a person’s blood to clot is impaired. The WFH donation program is
designed to create a sustainable model for humanitarian aid that has the
potential to improve hemophilia care in regions of the world where, due
to limited access to diagnosis and treatment, people with severe
hemophilia often do not survive to adulthood. This donation is intended
to help enable a predictable and sustainable supply of therapy to
countries in need, and is the first time treatment clinics will receive
product manufactured specifically for humanitarian use. The first
recipient countries of the donation include Senegal, Kenya, Philippines,
Dominican Republic, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, El
Salvador, Indonesia, Ghana, Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka and Nigeria.

“The majority of people with hemophilia in developing countries do not
live past adulthood and if they do, they face a life of severe
disability and chronic pain,” said Assad E. Haffar, M.D., WFH
Humanitarian Aid Program Director. “The lack of access to clotting
factor concentrates in these countries presents an urgent and important
public health challenge.”

“By expanding the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program through larger and more
predictable donations, we may now be in a position to create a
foundation for more sustainable and improved care in parts of the world
where there is an urgent need,” said WFH President Alain Weill.

According to the WFH, an estimated 400,000 people worldwide have
hemophilia and of these, more than 300,000 individuals live in areas
where there is limited access to diagnosis and treatment. This
commitment from Biogen and Sobi and the steady flow of medicine to WFH
may help enable access to treatment for emergency situations, acute
bleeds, elective surgeries and also prophylaxis for children.

“The WFH has made great strides in advancing the care for people with
hemophilia in developing countries over the last two decades, and we are
proud to help them accelerate their efforts,” remarked John Cox,
executive vice president, Pharmaceutical Operations and Technology at
Biogen. “This is a significant milestone in our joint effort with the
WFH and our hope is that others will join us to help create a
sustainable model for humanitarian support.”

“We regard healthcare innovation as a global commitment. By helping to
address the global treatment gap and supporting the WFH’s mission of
treatment for all, we hope to enable meaningful change for people with
hemophilia across the world,” said Geoffrey McDonough, president and
chief executive officer of Sobi.

About the World Federation of HemophiliaFor over 50 years,
the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), an international
not-for-profit organization, has worked to improve the lives of people
with hemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders. Established in
1963, it is a global network of patient organizations in 127 countries
and has official recognition from the World Health Organization. Visit
WFH online at www.wfh.org

About BiogenThrough cutting-edge science and medicine,
Biogen discovers, develops and delivers to patients worldwide innovative
therapies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, hematologic
conditions and autoimmune disorders. Founded in 1978, Biogen is one of
the world’s oldest independent biotechnology companies and patients
worldwide benefit from its leading multiple sclerosis and innovative
hemophilia therapies. For product labeling, press releases and
additional information about the Company, please visit www.biogen.com.

About SobiSobi is an international specialty healthcare
company dedicated to rare diseases. Sobi’s mission is to develop and
deliver innovative therapies and services to improve the lives of
patients. The product portfolio is primarily focused on Haemophilia,
Inflammation and Genetic diseases. Sobi also markets a portfolio of
specialty and rare disease products for partner companies across Europe,
the Middle East, North Africa and Russia. Sobi is a pioneer in
biotechnology with world-class capabilities in protein biochemistry and
biologics manufacturing. In 2014, Sobi had total revenues of SEK 2.6
billion (USD 380 M) and about 600 employees. The share (STO: SOBI) is
listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm. More information is available at www.sobi.com.

Biogen Safe HarborThis press release contains
forward-looking statements, including statements about the amount of
clotting factors donation to be supplied and the timing thereof, as well
as the potential impact of that supply. These statements may be
identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “plan,”
“potential,” “will” and similar expressions, and are based on current
beliefs and expectations. These statements involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those reflected in such statements, including the risk of manufacturing
problems, collaboration risks, and the other risks and uncertainties
that are described in the Risk Factors section of Biogen’s most recent
annual or quarterly report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of
this press release and Biogen assumes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.